Two-month grant total tops $2.1 million

Jan. 27, 2003

KALAMAZOO -- Grants to Western Michigan University during
November and December exceeded $2.1 million, Western Michigan
University trustees learned at their Jan. 24 meeting.

A report presented to trustees showed that the two-month grant
total was $2,144,416, with November awards totaling $1,055,418
and December grants tallying $1,088,999. The amounts brought
the year-to-date total grants received since the July 1 start
of the 2002-03 fiscal year to $20,668,717.

Research grants during the two-month period topped $1.1 million
and were led by a renewal grant of $461,697 from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services to Dr. James M. Hillenbrand, professor
of speech pathology. Hillenbrand's research seeks to shed light
on how the human brain deciphers complex and radically different
speech patterns and translates those sound waves into readily
understood phonetic patterns. Hillenbrand has been researching
how sounds are made and perceived since 1992 in collaboration
with Robert Houde of RIT Research Corp. in Rochester, N.Y.

A new research grant of $108,425 from the U.S. Department
of Transportation to Dr. Christopher D. Nelson, a senior research
associate in the WMU Evaluation Center, aims to help the agency
improve safety performance in the railroad industry through an
evaluation of behavior-based safety methods. This approach, which
emphasizes organizational and psychological factors, has not
been used in the rail industry in the past. As a result, the
evaluation activities are geared toward helping the agency assess
the potential benefits of investment in this emerging area.

Another new research grant, this one for $92,103 from the
National Science Foundation to Dr. Steven B. Bertman, associate
professor of chemistry, will be used to measure atmospheric nitrogen
delivered to the forests of northern Michigan. The project includes
the building and deployment of a device to measure how much fixed
nitrogen from the atmosphere is deposited into the forest over
time. The research has implications in the debate over global
warming and elevated carbon dioxide levels, since the amount
of carbon dioxide that forests can consume is limited by the
amount of nitrogen present in the soil.

A public service grant of $337,734 from Kalamazoo Community Mental
Health to Carol Sundberg, director of the WMU Center for Disability
Services, will assist people with handicaps. The renewal grant
will provide daily living, communication, behavior control and
social skill services to adults with developmental disabilities.

Other grants received during the period include the following.

A public service grant of $149,134 from the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting to Floyd Pientka, general manager of WMUKFM,
will be used to sustain public radio services.

An academic support grant of $118,169 from Battle Creek Unlimited
to Dr. Willem J. Homan, professor of aviation sciences, will
fund a feasibility study and produce a strategic plan for the
proposed Michigan Aviation Research Institute in Battle Creek.